Automatic mail-pouch catcher



R. FRlC-K AUTOMATIC MAIL POUCH CATCHER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 7, 1920:.

Patented June 20, 1922.

J attouau r a s an'roivrarro MAIL-POUCH CATCHER.

Application filed September 7, '1920. Serial No 408,556.

To all whom it may concern,-

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH Fnron, citizen of the United States, residing at Burlington, in the county of 'Des Moines and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Mail-Pouch Catchers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in mail sack catchers and more particularly to a device of this character which is so arranged with respect to the car to which it is attached that the sacks of mail which are caught thereby will be readily deposited upon a table upon the interior of the car.

The main object of the present invention is the provision of a railway mail catcher mounted for swinging movement within the top portion of a car and adapted to be disposed in an inclined position, whereby one end of the device will be disposed in such a position that it will readily receive a mail sack or the like suspended alongside the railway track.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of amail sack catcher adapted to be movably disposed Within a railway car and normally disposed in parallel relation with respect to the car and when it is desired to use the same, the device can be disposed at an angle to extend one end above the roof of the car for receiving a mail sack or the like suspended along the track.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a mail sack catcher of the above character provided with a plurality of retarding members to thus eliminate the jar of the mail sack when being thrown into the car so that any of the articles contained within the bag will not become broken, regardless of how fragile they may be.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a cagelike device mounted within a railway car and adapted to have one end projected above the car for engaging a 1 mail sack suspended alongside the track said cage being provided with a plurality of retarding members against which the mail sack is thrown to retard the speed of the sack upon entering the car. It will be noted that this device will readily receive the mail Specification of Letters Patent. Patgnted June 20, 1922.

sack without injuring the contents'thereof regardless of the speed of the train.

With the above and other obj ects in view, the invention consists in the novel features of construction, the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in the claims and shown in the accompanying drawings, in whic h Figure 1 is a side elevation of a railway car, showing mail sack catcher,

Figure 2 is an end elevation, showing the position of the catcher with respect to the suspension means alongside thetrack,

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the cage which receives the mail sacks, and

Figure 4 is a front end elevation of the same.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be noted that I have shown for the purpose of illustration a diagrammatic view of a railway car, generally indicated by the numeral 1, showingmy improved mail catcher attached thereto. In the present instance, my improved catcher is mounted within a suitable opening formed in the the application of my improved.

top of the car and when not in use will be limit myself to this particular construction v or mounting of the catcher upon the car, as the same can be readily used in various positions with respect to the car. The catcher, in itself, includes bowed base members 2, connected at their ends by means of the transverse members 3 and in order toprovide a body or cagelike device, the-U shaped members 4 are provided, the ends of which are secured in any desired manner to th bowed portions 2. a

Attached to the intermediate portion of the sides of the members 4 are the longitudinal strips 5, the ends of which are secured to the strips 6 which form the top and end strips of the frame. erably U-shaped in form, the forwardends of the same being disposed at an; an *le, as shown at 7, whilethe rear ends are perpendicularto the strips 2 and 5 and parallel with the strips 4. The intermediate portions of the members 6 constitute the top portion of the frame with the exception of the inclined portions 8 arranged upon opposite sides of the center of the frame to provide an inclined portion at each end of the cover or roof of the catcher.

If found necessary, a suitable covering may be arranged over the top of the cage, but in the present instance the use of such a cover has not been illustrated. The car 1 is provided upon each side of the opening therein for the purpose of receiving the catcher with standards 9 having suitable bearings at their upper ends adapted to receive a transverse rod 10, the ends of which are secured to the center one of the U-shaped members 4 for the purpose of mounting the catcher for swinging movement within the opening in the car, whereby one end of the catcher may be disposed above the roof of the car, as illustrated in Figure 1, for the purpose of receiving the mail sacks which are suspended alongside the track.

In Figure 2, I have illustrated the manner in which the mail sacks may be suspended alongside the track and in this construct-ion it includes a standard 11, having a swinging supporting bar 12 on its upper end provided with a suspension member 13. This suspension member 13 may be of wood or other material, whereby when the sack is caught within the front end of the catcher, this suspension member will be broken for the purpose of releasing the sack supported thereby. While this particular means is shown and described for releasing the sack from the member 12, it will be understood that any suitable releasing mechanism can be used if desired. It is obvious that should a mail sack be received within the forward end of the catcher while the train is going at a high rate of speed, the sack would be thrown into the car with great force, should there be no means for retarding the movementof the same, as it passes through the catcher and into the car. In order to retard the movement of the sack when received into the catcher, I provide a plurality of S-shaped retarding members, generally indicated by the numeral 14. These members 1 1 are secured at their upper ends to the bowed supporting member 15, the ends of which are attached to the angular portions 8 of the members 6 to support the member 15 in its proper position. It will be noted that the members 1 1 are supported in such a manner thatthe lower curvature of the same will be engaged by the mail sack as it enters the cage and as these retarding members 1 1 are yieldable in construction, it will permit the mail sack to pass beyond each of the retarders to the rear end of the cage, where it will drop downwardly into the interior of the car. As the sack is received into the 1 ,aeoeve forward end of the catcher and passes rearwardly, the members 14; will retard its movement so that when it reaches the rear end of the catcher and is deposited within the car, it will be deposited within the car with considerable less force than it would have been were it not for the retarding members It is preferred, upon receiving the mail sacks into the car 1, to have them deposited upon a suitable table 16, arranged in position within the car beneath the inner end of the catcher so that the mail sacks can be readily deposited upon this table when I received within the car.

While I have shown and described particular means for mounting this catcher within an opening in the roof of the car 1, it will be understood that I do not wish to limit myself to this particular mounting or the position of the catcher within the car. In order to retain the U-shaped members 4 and 6 in their proper relative positions with respect to the longitudinal members 2 a'nd5, I provide a plurality of brace wires 17 which are attached to the side portions 4 of the U- shaped members and the end portions of the member 6.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the class described including in combination with a car body having an opening in the top thereof, of a mov able cage member normally supported within the car and adapted to be disposed in an inclined position with one end projecting" through the opening to receive a suspended mail sack for depositing thesame within the car and a plurality of S-shaped yieldable retarding members, each having one of their ends secured to the cage and their free ends disposed in the pathway of the mail sack as it passes through the cage to re tard the movement of the same;

2. A device of the class described including in combination with a car body having an opening in the top thereof, of a movable cage member normally supported within the car and adapted to be disposed in an inclined position with one end projecting through the opening to receive a suspended mail sack for depositing the same within the car, a series of retarding members arranged within the cage in longitudinal alignment, each series comprising a plurality of S-shaped spring members arranged in transverse alignment with respect to the cage, each of said spring members having one of their ends secured to the cage and their free ends disnosed in the athwa of the mail sack as it passes through the cage" RUDOLPH anion. 

